Nonprofit Logic Model Template
An editable nonprofit logic model with the Inputs → Activities → Outputs → Short-term outcomes → Long-term impact framework. Includes youth mentoring, community food pantry, and workforce training scenarios. No signup required.
Use this templateWhat you get
- The five-column theory-of-change framework, connected by arrows from inputs to long-term impact
- Three editable scenarios: youth mentoring program, community food pantry, and workforce training program
- Color-coded columns that separate outputs (countable) from outcomes (the change they produce)
What this template is for
This nonprofit logic model template lays out the classic theory-of-change framework — Inputs, Activities, Outputs, Short-term outcomes, and Long-term impact — in five connected columns. It comes with three editable scenarios: a youth mentoring program, a community food pantry, and a workforce training program. Use it to plan a new grant, explain how your program turns resources into change, or build a shared picture for staff, board, and funders.
When to use this template
- Follow the five columns: Inputs → Activities → Outputs → Short-term outcomes → Long-term impact.
- Start from the youth mentoring program scene to see the framework filled in end to end.
- Compare the food pantry and workforce training scenes for how the same columns adapt to different missions.
- Trace the arrows between columns to read the causal chain, or theory of change, at a glance.
How to use it
- 1Open the template and pick the scene closest to your program.
- 2Rename the scene title to your own program and replace the example items.
- 3Fill Inputs with the resources you already have: people, funding, space, partners.
- 4List Activities as the concrete things your team does, then Outputs as the countable results.
- 5Separate Short-term outcomes (behavior and knowledge) from Long-term impact (the mission-level change).
Quick example
Youth mentoring program logic model
Related resources
How it compares to similar tools
Logic model vs theory of change
A theory of change is the narrative explanation of why the work matters. A logic model is the same reasoning laid out visually in columns, so each link from input to impact is explicit and checkable.
Outputs vs outcomes
Outputs are what the program does and counts directly, such as sessions held or people served. Outcomes are the change those activities produce in people, split into short-term behavior and long-term impact.
Common mistakes to avoid
Confusing outputs with outcomes
Listing '100 people trained' as an outcome mistakes activity for change. Outputs are the count; outcomes describe what changed for those people afterward.
Skipping the causal arrows
A logic model only works if each column actually leads to the next. If the arrows are left out, the model becomes five unrelated lists instead of one chain of reasoning.
Frequently asked questions
What is a nonprofit logic model?+
A nonprofit logic model is a one-page visual that shows how a program's resources (inputs) are used in activities to produce outputs, which lead to short-term outcomes and, ultimately, long-term impact.
What are the five parts of a logic model?+
The five standard parts are Inputs, Activities, Outputs, Short-term outcomes, and Long-term impact, read left to right as a causal chain from what you have to what you change.
Can I use this for grant applications?+
Yes. Funders commonly ask for a logic model or theory of change. This template gives you a clean, editable framework you can fill in and export for a proposal.
Start editing online
Open the template in CodePic, replace the sample nodes, and turn it into your own study board in a few minutes.
See examples: /templates/nonprofit-logic-model/examples
